The local newpaper has been running a series for the last few days on nostalgia. So right! For a person who hasn’t already forgotten what day it is, the thought of yesterday (so many of them to work with) is good fun. I know, that’s not really a complete sentence, but most memories are like that; incomplete… phrases.
posted in music | Comments Off on Nostalgia as my culture | 317 words
The verdict was in. After a careful analysis, son #2 announced that the intermittent state of our home entertainment centre had nothing to do with his earlier “re-cabling” efforts, where wires are randomly plugged into sockets in the hope of miracles. Instead, we really did have a faulty composite cable that should be replaced at the earliest occasion. It’s the weekend, and the box stores are waiting for me to balance their bottom line. Off to the shops we go.
posted in economy, technology | Comments Off on A wire is still a wire | 356 words
The electoral office has “done it again”. The latest modification to rules on voting in federal elections, passed as Bill C-31, assure that the identity of any voter will be guaranteed through the use of photo identification cards. Don’t worry, because if your religious beliefs hold that your face should be covered, the picture will assure that it really is you “under there”.
posted in politics | Comments Off on Don’t show your face around here | 332 words
There’s a little cartoon and phrase out there: “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”. If you haven’t seen it, click here. So, you’re anonymous? Big deal, you’re still a dog. One woman in the greater Seattle area pushed the envelope a bit further, deciding that her dog was as qualified to vote as the next mutt. She registered her best friend, Duncan M. McDonald, complete with an official pawprint. Election officials didn’t appreciate the joke, and she was summoned to court. All will end well, with her paying a fine, doing some community service and making sure the dog never tries to complete a ballot.
posted in media | Comments Off on On the lighter side | 269 words
One of the traps that popular culture sets out is a belief that we recognize “the story” behind the plot of the movie or program or play or book or whatever. Take it from me; that’s just proof that the illusion is working as it should.
posted in media, music | Comments Off on Never too sad to sing about it | 290 words
For those of us who suffer from NMGANBCAI disorder, today was a difficult day on several fronts. (Oh right, always explain the acronym: Need More Gadgets And Net But Can’t Really Afford It). Although I still don’t have a cellphone, and my desire for an iPhone has waned, Apple continues to tempt me. The new iPod touch (a tactile, visual replacement for the now obsolete MP3 players that are found all through the house). Sweet.
posted in technology | Comments Off on Media envy (reductio ad absurdum) | 280 words
I’m not well travelled. As I tell my kids, it’s a big world out there, and I haven’t seen much of it. Unless, of course, we count knowledge gained from a lifetime of reading maps. It started early; the timetables that CNR provided for passengers had maps. Big dots for each town that had a station, and for someone that had only seen what lay along the road to Charlottetown, they were all about the same size. Seen one, seen them all.
posted in history, technology | Comments Off on Getting from here to there | 324 words
In my life as a Windows user, I’ve learned that sometimes there will be problems. Not every day, because that would certify me as a masochist. Still, even with caution and safety harnesses and protective software up the yin-yang, there will be stormy moments. I’ve spent two evenings doing battle with a trojan/spyware infestation, and it meant that this was not a labour-free weekend.
posted in computing | Comments Off on Which is more painful, the illness or the cure? | 311 words
The first symptom was a line of pale splotches down the length of the body. In fact, the only symptom. Did I mention it was the body of the letter? There, that’s a relief. No strange medical report this time. In fact, the only sick part was my imagined pocket book shock, as we can’t afford to buy a new laser printer right now.
posted in technology | Comments Off on One more recycled tale | 312 words
The heart is warmer now. After watching another in a lifetime of Canadian TV movies, I’m willing to admit that you have to reach a certain (cultural) age before the appreciation quotient reaches above simmer. Tonight, a whole slew of oblique references to our Island author. With Mom played by Megan Follows. Does it get any better than that?
posted in media | Comments Off on A flood of memories | 262 words
